Buffalo Bills Training Camp: Injuries Compromising Chan Gailey's Offense

The Buffalo Bills and new head coach Chan Gailey are half way through their exhibition schedule, but are going to need more than the next two weeks to properly install his complicated offensive sets and plays.

The biggest thorn to Gailey has to be the mounting list of injuries that continues to ravage the team, just like they did in the 2009 season to then head coach Dick Jauron. Apparently, the demons have not yet been exorcised from Ralph Wilson Stadium, St. John's Fisher College, and Toronto, because wherever the Bills practice and play, injuries are sure to follow them.

If you look at the progression of how things have materialized, the deck has been stacked against Gailey right from the start. The Bills passed on bringing in a number of free agents or high round draft picks for the offensive line, preferring to let the returning injured linemen ease there way back in. So far after two games, Eric Wood and Demetrius Bell have only seen anywhere from 10 - 20 live snaps in total. Not enough to shake any rust off, much less get in to game shape and build offensive line cohesion.

Gailey had hopes for working in some plays for two running backs in at the same time - pick any two of these three options - Freddy Jackson, Marshawn Lynch, and C.J. Spiller. Well, after one drive of the first quarter or the first game, Jackson and Lynch were both injured and lost for the rest of the preseason. There is no way yet of telling when Gailey will be able to work those same plays in to his game planning and have faith in them that they will actually work.

We will now take a look at the various injuries and what they mean to Chan Gailey and his plans for the offense and for the team. If you have the feeling of deja vu reading this, you won't be alone.

Tight End Position is Looking Very Bleak Right Now

Bills fans will not see Shawn Nelson doing anything for the first four weeks

Historically, Chan Gailey has been known to use his tight ends as blockers in the running game. Perhaps he has not enjoyed having tight ends that are as physically gifted as Shawn Nelson is, which provides the Bills quarterbacks with another option in the short passing game. Nelson is big and fast, which separates him from the other tight ends on the roster. Derek Schouman has good hands, but can't seem to stay healthy long enough to develop his skills.

It was announced after the Indianapolis Colts game, that the NFL was suspending Shawn Nelson for the first four games of the 2010 season for violation of the NFL Policy and Program for Substances of Abuse. It has not yet been revealed what exactly Nelson did, or what he took that caused the violation. In a brief statement in front of the media, Nelson apologized and said that he didn't do anything bad.

Didn't do anything bad? Missing all the September games on the schedule is not doing anything bad? How about letting down your team mates, fans and your coaches? How about placing more pressure on the rest of the offense to deliver, since you are not going to be on the field? Enough said.

Derek Schouman began the 2009 season on a high note, as he was one of the team's leading receivers. After two weeks he had already registered nine catches for over 100 yards, with a long of 23 yards against New England and a long of 27 yards against Tampa Bay. He was developing some strong chemistry with Trent Edwards. He never made it to week three as he was placed on the I.R. list, ending his season.

Schouman has been hurt again this year, and the Bills are waiting to find out how long he will be missing with his latest injury. Each week, Gailey is adding more new offensive sets and plays for the team, but Schouman will just be further behind as he sits on the sidelines mending.

Jonathan Stupar has been flagged for penalties and didn't do much in the 2009 season, although he was the darling of the 2009 exhibition season. Michael Matthews is thought to be more of a blocker, not as much of a receiving threat. There has been talk that the Bills will add another tight end to the roster, but for now they have practicing with their fullbacks in the tight end position.  

Offensive Line Easing Their Way in to 2010 Season

Bills fans will enjoy watching Eric Wood in his sophomore year

Coming back to form after bad injuries in the 2009 season are key linemen Eric Wood and Demetrius Bell. So far, their playing time has been limited to 10 - 20 snaps in the Colts game. Each successive week, the Bills hope that they will be allowed to be on the field a little bit longer as they attempt to be ready for the Miami Dolphins game in week one of the regular season.

Prior to the start of the exhibition season, Fred Jackson and Marshawn Lynch were healthy and there at practice. Eric Wood and Demetrius Bell had not received medical clearance to practice then, so Jackson and Lynch were running behind Jamon Meredith and Kirk Chambers. Now that Wood and Bell are more or less back, both Jackson and Lynch are out, and so the chemistry you hope to have between the running backs knowing what the linemen will do on each play has been badly compromised.

The Bills running game will rely on the line being healthy enough to open some kind of holes for Jackson and Lynch to run through. C.J. Spiller has already demonstrated that you don't necessarily have to open up a lane for him, his moves and speed will be able to create something out of nothing, but if you ask him, I am sure he would opt to have an open lane to run through.

Other offensive line injuries to mention include Cornell Green having a knee issue, and Ed Wang. The first Chinese player in NFL history has been off to a rough start to his rookie campaign with a high ankle sprain, and now a thumb injury that required an operation on it.

The jury is still out on how well the young offensive line will perform in 2010, but one can only hope that the starting five will be able to be together for the majority of the season.

Running Backs Injuries are Limiting What Plays Gailey Can Install

Ex-Bills linebacker London Fletcher knocks Marshawn Lynch out of preseason

Losing Fred Jackson and Marshawn Lynch to injuries in the first quarter of the first exhibition game had to be a nightmare for Chan Gailey. If you ask Gailey, he will say that this is football. Somebody gets hurt, and somebody gets an opportunity to show what they can do. Well, he is correct about that, but what Gailey is not saying is that he had plans he wanted to implement that were thrown right out the window when both the backs went down hurt.

Gailey is an offensive mastermind and he had already created plays that were utilizing both Jackson and Lynch in the same backfield. He wanted to experiment to see which plays worked and which ones did not. He won't be able to find that out now unless he wants to experiment with those same plays in the regular season. Is the regular season the ideal time to be experimenting? I think to a certain degree that probably does occur each week, where you have some plays you want to try out against a certain team.

But, having confidence in a play is one thing, but this is a different story. Gailey can attempt to do some plays with a combination of Spiller and Joique Bell in the same backfield, but that is not the same thing as Lynch and Jackson.

Then there is the whole concept of the Wild Cat offense sets, or as I prefer to call it, Wild Turkey. Think of the plays that could be run with a backfield of Lynch, Jackson and Spiller? Edwards is in the huddle and he lines up out wide. From that formation, and knowing that Jackson can throw the ball also, there is a myriad of things the Bills could try.

I can only imagine how much sleep Gailey has already lost, and we are just two weeks in so far. Ugh.

Injuries Have Hit the Wide Receivers as Well

David Nelson scored in week one, then promptly got hurt in practice.

Injuries have hit the receivers as well, as Marcus Easley, David Nelson, and James Hardy have all missed time due to being hurt.

Marcus Easley has already been declared on season ending IR, putting an abrupt halt to his rookie season. James Hardy has not been able to play so far in the preseason due to his various leg problems and he is in danger of not making the final roster cuts if he can't find a way to be a steady weekly contributor. David Nelson has emerged from camp as a gifted wide receiver, but all of the momentum he has been building was put on hold when he came down with his own injury this past week.

As potentially strong as the Bills running game appears to be on paper, their opposition each week will be looking to bring the secondary up to contain the running game.

This type of scenario is what the wide receivers want, so they can burn the secondary on long passes. Those long passes don't happen if you are sitting out on the sidelines week after week. Just as important as the chemistry is for running backs with their linemen, is the chemistry between a QB and his receivers. Who has any degree of chemistry with James Hardy now?

The Defense is Not Immune to Injuries Either

Danny Batten's season is already over as Bills rookie is on IR list

When the Bills announced that Marcus Easley was going to be placed on the season ending IR list, it also included the name of linebacker Danny Batten as joining him on season ending IR. So, here we go. Two more Bills on season ending IR. Last year, the list went over the 20 player mark, and we haven't even started the season yet.

The reason that the defense is important in this article is pretty straight forward enough. For the Bills to have the luxury to ground and pound the ball with their running attack, they need to be in every game.

The Bills offense is not designed or built to be able to come from behind if they are down two or three touchdowns in the third or fourth quarter. So, that means the defense has to be healthy, rested and has enough depth to be able to keep themselves off of the field and the offense on the field for as long as possible every week.

Regarding specific player injuries so far, players missing exhibition games to date have included Paul Posluszny, Chris Kelsay, Jairus Byrd, (just had his third groin operation this past week), and of course Danny Batten. Although he hadn't missed any games yet, Reggie Torbor also was hurt in the Colts game, and he could be out for three weeks or longer.

Leodis McKelvin is coming back from his broken leg last year, and Kawika Mitchell is coming back from a serious quad injury. It becomes more challenging to keep up with all of the injuries because it just seems like there is somebody new to be worried about every other day.

What Can Bills Fans do to Reverse the Curse?

Bills fans hope this is something they seldom see in 2010 season

The dreaded golf cart coming out on the field to take the player in to the locker room, or an ambulance taking somebody to the hospital. That is something that we all got sick of seeing in 2009. Is there some kind of curse that has been placed on the Bills organization?

For his part, Chan Gailey has brought in a new strength and condition program and hired two people to run things in a completely different format. Gailey has the team wearing pads on a regular basis, as he wants his team to be tougher and more disciplined than the Bills in the past were.

But for all of the good things that should be a result of the work ethic and sacrifices, injuries still continue to mount. Obviously, I am cognizant that we are talking about football, which is a game that has one violent collision after another. But enough is enough. What do we have to do to make the injury bug leave the Bills organization alone?

Whatever curse that Babe Ruth left on the Red Sox, they seem to have found a way to work that out pretty well. So far, the Bills haven't been as lucky in finding their own solution to this issue.

So, whatever Bills fans have in their possession, it is time to bring them forward. If you are able to conduct your own exorcism, bring out your lucky rabbit foot, four leaf clovers, whatever it takes, do your part to help the team get through this chaos to emerge healthy and ready to do battle in 2010.

Maybe we don't need to employ a billboard this year, but what if we created a designated area in the parking lot for the tailgaters to sacrifice some of their barbecue to the cause? Sacrifice one Genesee Cream Ale per 12 pack as part of the offering?

I welcome any other creative ideas you may have or want to share with us.